Sadiq Khan criticises Matt Hancock's face mask advice - "He's wrong"
24 April 2020, 13:53
Mayor of London on importance of facemasks
The Mayor of London told James O'Brien that the best thing the public can do to protect each other from infection is to wear a face covering.
James questioned Sadiq Khan on his call for Brits to make their own face coverings to protect each other against the spread of coronavirus.
He told the Mayor of London that the Health Secretary Matt Hancock "ruled that out", pointing out that Mr Hancock said that the government advice on face masks remains unchanged.
Mr Khan put plain and simply that "he's wrong". The Mayor told James that he has spoken to "experts around the world" on the viability of face coverings to prevent disease and he's received an overwhelming response backing up the claim.
"On a number of occasions we've been behind the curve" he argued, and so wondered "why not get ahead of the curve rather than play catchup" on the use of face masks in public.
Sadiq Khan noted that the "government misinterprets advice" it gets from scientific and medical experts and has led to the current stance on face masks.
"Wearing a non surgical facial covering is the most unselfish thing you can do" the Mayor of London noted.
Sadiq Khan on furlough of TfL workers
Sadiq Khan had joined James to speak about the announcement that TfL will furlough a quarter of it's employees in the London transport network because of a drop-off in passenger numbers.
The Mayor stated that TfL relies on passenger fares to pay staff and because "income decreased by 90%" since the beginning of lockdown, the organisation has no choice but to place staff on furlough.
Mr Khan stated that if TfL were to continue operating as normal with such a huge drop in passenger numbers, "money will run out in two months".
He insisted that TfL will continue to operate at a good service for passengers in London but also noted that the news is a "good opportunity to encourage people to walk and cycle" around the city.
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